User blog:A Heroic Smurf/Opinion Poll: Favorite/Not-So-Favorite Voice Actors
Alright, lads & lassies. This'll just be a quick return as I have very limited Internet access and I just wanted to hear your opinions: The Voice Actors for the Smurfs (and Supporting Characters) in Mainstream Media. I came up with this idea just recently while sketching a few of my Smurf characters in hope of improving my artistic skills (it's getting there, but not too much. I'm using the tips that 404 gave me a long time ago as motivation to continuously improve my art.) Anyway, to the poll. Who are your favorite/not-so-favorite voice actors? Here's mine: Papa Smurf -- I'm stuck between the late Don Messick & Jonathan Winters as my favorite voice for Papa, both of them fit the character in their own ways. Jonathan Winters did give Papa that fatherly like voice in the films, Jack Angel did a good job for the specials, but his voice did tend to go a little raspy in some areas. But I'm more so Don Messick, he was the true Papa Smurf. Gargamel -- I can't decide between Paul Winchell & Hank Azaria, but more so towards Paul Winchell since he made him sound more menacing in some episodes of the show, nothing towards Hank Azaria; he does a fantastic voice for Gargamel and I honestly feel that he is the modern Gargamel. So I'm 50/50 on this one. Smurfette -- This is a pretty obvious one: Lucille Bliss. She was the true voice for Smurfette, she just gave her that extra bit of cuteness & charm, though it tend to get a little bit annoying when she was scared or worried. Melissa Sturm was also good for Smurfette in the specials which was why I have her as the desired voice for Wonder. Katy Perry, while I enjoy her music, I feel sorta 50/50 on her, she did sound cute in some scenes in the films; sometimes she went a bit too raspy for me. After watching the 40 second teaser trailer for the 2017 Smurfs movie, I feel Demi Lovato could be a good choice for Smurfette, but I have an after-thought that Melissa Sturm is the slightly better Smurfette in the long run, but I can't give a full opinion until Sony show more trailers and when the movie officially comes out. Hefty Smurf -- Here's the thing, to me, I kinda liked the actors for Hefty. Frank Welker did an amazing job in the cartoon series, Gary Basaraba did a reasonable job for him; he gave Hefty that deep voice that kinda suited him, but I really feel Hefty should've been given a bigger role in the films to maybe further develop the film series' interpretation of him. After watching the 40 second teaser trailer for the 2017 Smurfs movie, I'm starting to really like their choice for Hefty, he gives the character that deep gruff voice which I feel really goes with him, and I read somewhere that his actor is a big fan of the Smurfs (or is at least aware of it, I can't remember which though). I'll give a full opinion when Sony show more trailers and when the movie officially comes out. Brainy Smurf -- My personal favorite voice for him is leaning more towards Danny Goldman than Fred Armisen, nothing against Fred Armisen though; his voice does sound like a modern version of Danny's voice for Brainy. Plus, Danny played the role perfectly throughout the entire cartoon since he gave him that know-it-all nasally type of voice. Clumsy Smurf -- I'm gonna come right out and say it, my favorite actor for Clumsy was the late Anton Yelchin, he gave Clumsy that little bit of charm to his character, I remember reading an interview somewhere that Anton said he was familiar with Clumsy from the cartoon series and he went to the main producers of the movies and made small changes to the movie interpretation. Bill Callaway did a fantastic voice for Clumsy in the cartoon series, that Southern twang just really suited him. Grouchy Smurf -- For me, it's Michael Bell hands down. His voice was perfect for the character. George Lopez did sound good on paper for the films, but I feel it wasn't executed very well. Handy Smurf -- This is a pretty obvious one, Michael Bell, since the movie version of Handy didn't speak that much in the films; only a couple of lines here and there. Vanity Smurf -- TBH, I liked both voice actors for Vanity. Alan Oppenheimer was fantastic in the cartoon show and John Oliver was good in the films. Despite the character sparking controversy over his sexuality (being marked as homosexual) I feel the character is effeminate and has no romantic interest in any Smurf. So anyway, I'm 50/50 on both voice actors. Sir Johan & Peewit -- Need I say more about these two? It's obviously gonna be Michael Bell & Frank Welker, these two were just spot on with these characters. Even though they only appeared in various cartoon episodes and the Magic Flute film. '''NOTE: '''I will expand on this blog the next time I get Internet access, but it's a good start. Category:Blog posts